Secret Santa
by ficnic
Summary: Memorial's holiday party needs a last-minute Christmas miracle.  AKA my 2nd-ever Lurefic.  Happy Holidays!


Disclaimer: I do not own ATWT or its characters.

Summary: Memorial's holiday party needs a last-minute Christmas miracle.

Notes: Just taking a break from my usual Nuke broadcasts to bring a little holiday Lure schmoop. Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Perfect. Thanks again for your help, Kim. I'll see you tomorrow."<p>

Luke Snyder ended the call, satisfied that everything was in place. With Reid's successful neuro wing up and running, Luke had stepped down from the hospital board, since the only reason he'd joined it was to keep Reid in town. Of course, he had… _better _ways of doing that, now.

Inspired by Reid's ability to save and transform lives, Luke had recently renewed his day-to-day involvement with his own foundation. He'd enlisted the assistance of Kim Hughes and her television station, WOAK, in the first project he was personally overseeing since his full-time return. Tomorrow was Christmas, and he wanted to make it brighter for all the kids who'd have to spend their holidays at Memorial.

Thanks to Kim, WOAK aired a plea to the community, requesting donations to help bring Christmas to those children who couldn't go home to celebrate it. Oakdale responded, generously emptying its pockets until enough money had been raised to give each child a special gift. On Christmas Day, the children would attend a holiday party in Memorial's rec room, complete with a surprise visit from Santa.

Luke's thoughts were broken into by the buzz of his mobile. Pulling the phone from his pocket, he smiled as he noted the caller ID.

"Hey, Hollywood," Luke offered in greeting as he took a seat on the couch.

"Stop. That wasn't even funny the first 15 times."

"Not to _you_," Luke agreed. "All set for tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I set the alarms on both our phones so we don't miss the flight."

"Good. You guys get in at 2, right? Reid and I are picking you up."

"I'll try to contain my excitement," Noah deadpanned. "By the way, thank your husband for my Christmas present. I was touched."

As Luke raised a quizzical eyebrow, the door to the apartment opened. "Honey, I'm home!" They had been married all of two months, and Reid still hadn't missed an opportunity to use the line when walking through the front door.

"Reid!" Luke tried to inflect some annoyance into his voice. "You sent Noah a lump of coal?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Reid retorted, stifling the hint of a smile. "_You _did. I just put it in the box before you mailed it."

Luke rolled his eyes, while using every ounce of his self-restraint not to laugh. It didn't help that on the other end of the phone, Noah was chuckling.

"Aw, don't look at me like that. He loved it," Reid insisted as he plopped down on the couch next to Luke. "He still bringing the boy-toy tomorrow?"

"I heard that," Noah said from the other end of Luke's phone. "Luke, could you please ask him to go easy on James tomorrow? He's nervous enough already."

"Tell James there's no reason to worry. The whole family's looking forward to meeting him. I think Faith is already planning your wedding," Luke joked.

"So, no pressure. I guess if James survives tomorrow, I'll know he's really in it for the long haul."

"You already know. You wouldn't have proposed to him if you didn't," Luke responded. "And Noah – you sound great. _Happy_."

"I am," Noah confirmed. "It feels like everything's coming together how it's supposed to, you know?"

Luke sighed contentedly, thinking about his own life with Reid. "I totally know. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. Oh, and remind Reid that James is only three years younger than me. If _anyone's _a boy-toy-"

"Don't you _dare _say it," Luke cut in. "Unless you wanna walk home from the airport."

Noah laughed. "Sorry. Just try to get Old Man River to behave tomorrow, okay?"

"You're as bad as him! But I'll _try_."

"That's all I ask. See you guys tomorrow."

"See you."

Luke ended the call, angling himself up from the couch just enough to slide his phone back into his pocket. "Really. A lump of coal."

"You can't go wrong with the classics," Reid replied matter-of-factly. "Anyway, are you ready to go? I'm _starving_."

Luke smirked at Reid's impatience to get to Snyder farm. It was a marked difference from the early stages of their relationship. In the beginning, large Snyder affairs were something Reid tolerated mostly for Luke's sake.

It wasn't that Reid disliked Luke's relatives. But the family gatherings were something of a foreign concept to the neurosurgeon. The adjustment from enduring to enjoying such events took time.

Initially, Luke's parents were somewhat thrown by Reid's lack of a verbal filter. Reid, unaccustomed to curtailing his blunt observations, felt awkward and constrained in attempting to do so. It was Emma who finally interceded to make the situation more tenable.

She showed up unannounced at Memorial, bringing Reid good advice and even better cookies. As he scarfed down the offering, Emma counseled Reid that he didn't have to censor himself to pass muster with the Snyders. The fact that Luke loved him was enough to tell them Reid was a good man.

Since then, Reid relaxed around Luke's family. In turn, they grew more comfortable with him. In the end, though he was occasionally chided for a particularly prickly barb at some unfortunate Oakdalian or other, he was just as likely to send the entire family into hysterics with his caustic wit.

But as much as he'd come to care for all the Snyders – they were _his _family now, too – Emma was special. Noting the void of a maternal figure in Reid's life, she seamlessly stepped in to fill it. She brought his favorite lunches to the hospital when he had especially long days.

She talked him down when he ranted about the incompetence of some first-year intern or other. Although he'd never worn winter hats, she knitted him one anyway when he came inside from an especially cold day with reddened ears. She listened with patience, squished him in hugs, and mothered him relentlessly.

To Reid's utter surprise, he _loved _it.

"I'm ready, but dinner's not for another hour and a half," Luke replied. "If we go early you'll just start picking at everything-"

"And that's a problem, why?"

Luke shook his head, changing tactics. "Isn't there anything else you wanna do? With a _whole hour_ in our new home… completely _alone_…" He finished the thought by placing his hand on Reid's knee, then slowly dragging it up his inner thigh.

"Point taken," Reid conceded, then surprised Luke by suddenly pouncing, pinning him to the couch. With an entire hour at his disposal, Reid agreed they could satisfy one appetite, anyway.

As it turned out, they were fifteen minutes late for Emma's Christmas Eve dinner.

* * *

><p>The children's holiday party at Memorial was in full swing. The rec room had been decked out in red and green and filled with delectable Christmas treats. Children played games, sang karaoke, and whispered secrets to each other as the appointed time for Santa's arrival approached.<p>

As Luke took in the scene, he knew it would have been perfect – if only it wasn't such a disaster in the making.

Long story short, the truck tasked with delivering the children's gifts from the warehouse had failed to show. After Luke spent an hour making calls, trying to reach someone who could determine what had happened, the mystery was solved. The truck had, in fact, made the delivery of gifts to hospitalized children.

In _Bay City_.

Luke didn't know how the mix-up had occurred. Admittedly, the warehouse they'd used was about halfway in between the two towns. But the driver's orders should have clearly stated that the gifts were meant for Memorial.

It was too late to fix now. By the time Luke had tracked down the wayward presents, they were already in the hands of delighted young patients at Bay City's hospital. The kids at Memorial would have to go without.

Luke had scrambled to salvage the party, making a flurry of calls, hoping to entice some shop owner or other to open its doors for a very generous fee. He knew someone would have taken him up on the offer, if only anyone was taking calls on Christmas. Even Lucinda had struck out thus far.

Meanwhile, Reid had disappeared altogether, no doubt more comfortable catching up with paperwork than witnessing the onslaught of childhood tears bound to occur when Santa failed to show.

When Casey appeared in the rec room doorway, decked out in the Santa costume he'd agreed to don, Luke rushed to head him off. "What are you _doing_? Santa can't show up with nothing for the kids!"

Casey put a calming hand on Luke's shoulder. "Chill," he advised Luke. "It's all good."

As Casey advanced into the room, Luke was amazed to discover he was pulling a cart _filled with gifts_. "What the… how did you…?" Luke was gobsmacked.

"Not me," his friend answered. "_Santa_!"

The conversation was cut off as the children noticed the new arrival. "Santa!" Casey was immediately swarmed by kids of all ages, and gamely dispensed easy hugs and dramatic _ho-ho-hos_.

Finally, "Santa" began to distribute the presents, asking each child to wait so they could all open their packages together. Luke noticed that all of the boxes were similarly substantial, and rectangular in size. When the time came to tear into their gifts, the result was _pandemonium_.

"Oh my gosh!"

"I can't believe it!"

"I love it I love it I love it!"

"Thank you Santa!"

While the original gifts – assorted games and toys – were wonderful, _this _was… something else entirely. Luke stood stunned with the realization that each and every child – twenty-six in all, at least half of which were currently screaming – had received a top-of-the-line laptop from Santa Claus. Doing some quick math, Luke realized that whoever their impromptu benefactor was, the person had spent more than double the project's original budget to save Christmas.

Luke planned to interrogate Casey as soon as he got the chance. Until he suddenly spotted someone else instead, standing just outside the room, watching through the doorway. As their eyes met, Luke _knew_.

He made his way over to Reid, his heart flooding with the intensity of his love for the man. When he reached him, Luke's question was a single word. "How?"

Reid adopted the _it's no big deal _expression he always sported when he didn't want to acknowledge he'd done something incredible. "I did brain surgery on a Best Buy manager last month. Funny thing; you save a guy's life, he takes your calls. Even on Christmas."

"Oh my God," Luke said in awe. "They have less expensive gifts at Best Buy, you know. You didn't have to do _this_!"

"Need I remind you, I'm the finest neurosurgeon in the world," Reid scoffed.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Reid regarded Luke with his _do I have to draw a map? _look. "It means if I'm gonna be Santa-"

"You have to be the _best _Santa," Luke finished, grinning in understanding.

They were interrupted by the approach of a teenaged girl. "Doctor Oliver?"

"Can I help you?" It was Reid's turn to be confused. The girl wasn't one of his patients, so he couldn't fathom why she sought him out.

"My big sister used to date Casey," she explained. "So I recognized Santa right away. And I asked him who I could thank for this. Thank you," she finished, holding up her new laptop.

"You're welcome," Reid answered. "Now if you'll excuse me; I just need to go kill Santa…"

The girl laughed, and Reid couldn't help a smile. He loved audiences who appreciated his wisecracks.

"I'm starting at Oakdale U when I get out of here," the girl explained, then to Reid's surprise, began tearing up. "I never could've afforded a computer, let alone something like this… it's going to make studying so much easier. I won't have to fall behind when the computer labs are closed. This is just… the best present I've ever gotten."

The teen placed her gift on a chair, freeing her arms to suddenly crush Reid within her surprise embrace. Luke watched in amusement as his husband endured the unexpected human contact. As Reid managed to pat the girl's shoulder in an imitation of returning the hug, Luke mused that his spouse had come a long way.

"I'm sorry," the young woman said as she withdrew and wiped her moist eyes. "I just never expected anything like this. It makes me believe anything is possible. Even medical school."

Luke watched as Reid's eyes suddenly sparked with actual interest. "Really?"

"I want to specialize in neurosurgery," she concluded. "If I'm good enough."

Luke could have sworn he heard the bells of approval dinging furiously in Reid's brain. Within moments, Reid was seated at a table with the seventeen-year-old, Rose, and her parents, regaling the fascinated group with stories of his triumphs in brain surgery. Luke realized young Rose hadn't only received a laptop this Christmas, but undoubtedly a new mentor in the form of the world's finest neurosurgeon.

Eventually, the party concluded, and the time came to head to the airport. Luke approached Casey to thank him for playing Santa, and ask him for one last favor. With his agreement, Luke then texted Noah.

Finally, Reid parted with the family, and joined Luke. "That kid is _smart_! Graduated a year early even with being sick - damn leukemia. She's gonna beat it, though. I wouldn't be surprised if she's performing brain surgery right here in ten years!"

Luke smiled at Reid's enthusiasm. "Ready to go?"

Reid feigned aggravation. "Do we really have to pick them up?"

Luke smirked. "Actually, no. Casey just left for the airport."

It was Reid's turn to be surprised. "I was kidding…"

"I know," Luke responded. "But, I thought Memorial's Secret Santa deserved a special gift of his own. He'll have to take me home to get it, though."

Reid's eyebrows shot up as he grasped the suggestive tone of Luke's voice. Without further ado, he grabbed his husband's hand, and led him out of the hospital. Arriving home, Luke rewarded _his _Santa enthusiastically, and repeatedly.

They were thirty minutes late for Emma's Christmas dinner.


End file.
